This invention relates to a shingle removing tool adapted for manual manipulation by a roofer for removing of roofing shingles secured to an inclined roof.
Housing structures and the like are generally constructed with inclined roofs. The roofs are covered with a plurality of overlapping, horizontal, aligned rows of shingles. Generally, each row includes a plurality of horizontally aligned individual rectangular shingles. The first row is laid across the lowermost edge of the roof and nailed in place. Each successive layer or row is secured to the roof boards with the lower portion overlapping the preceding row sufficiently to cover the attaching nails of the immediately preceding lower row. In modern roofing, the overlapping portion is also secured to the bottom shingle by a suitable adhesive. Generally, the shingles are also laterally staggered such that the attached shingle overlies the joint of the adjacent shingles in the immediate preceding row. It is often necessary to remove the shingles for replacement either in part or in total. It is necessary, of course, to pry the nails upwardly to remove the shingles. Various tools have been suggested to assist the roofer in removing of the shingles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,743 discloses an elongated handle having a flat lowered edge member adapted to project under a shingle with the outermost edge engaging the nail and with a rocker action loosening the nail to assist in the removal of the shingles. In addition to the patent cited in the above patent, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 758,442, which was issued in 1904; U.S. Pat. No. 2,680,003 which issued in 1954, as indicative of other tools for assisting the roofer in removing of an existing shingled roofing.